Resident says nothing's being done about it

Seven apartments have been broken into in the last month in the same Arlington complex.

One woman who lives at Gregory Cove Apartments in Charter Point says she hasn't felt safe ever since she got a call from her children on Wednesday.

"They called my phone at about 5 o'clock and was like, 'Mama, you need to hurry up and get here 'cause somebody kicked in our door,'" she said.

When she got home, she found her door kicked in and her apartment cleared out.

"They took all of the electronics, five game systems iPods, iPod Touches," the woman said. "They just took everything that was valuable."

She said law enforcement told her she was the sixth apartment burglarized this month, and then it happened to another neighbor the next day.

At least four burglaries were posted on the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office's crime mapping system. The woman said apartment management apologized and changed the locks, but she believes more should be done to protect people in this neighborhood.

Channel 4 crime and safety analyst Ken Jefferson says apartment management usually controls the types of doors and locks residents have, but there are things residents can add for an extra layer of protection.

"You can invest into a double cylinder deadbolt lock. You can invest into the four-inch screws that you can put into your door, which will almost prevent it or be a great deterrent from people kicking in your door," Jefferson said.

He said at the very least it will slow the burglar down. Jefferson said burglars want to spend no more than two minutes trying to break in, and as little time inside once in an apartment.

"So if you slow him down at the door, he's trying to kick the door in or he's trying to pry it in, he's possibly going to cause attention to himself 'cause he doesn't want to be there that long," Jefferson said.

The woman believes the thieves strike around noon when no one is home. But she still can't understand how they've been able to break in to so many homes and get away undetected.

"I just can't believe they're toting big TVs down, that many hits," she said. "Nobody's doing anything about it. The police are still not riding though out here. It's just, it's funny."

When seeking comment from complex management, Channel 4 was asked to leave the property. Someone in the front office said they did not have any comment.

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